Continuous improvement means learning from our defusing mistakes and successes
How can I continue to improve my ability to deal with difficult, aggressive, and insulting customers?
Even if you use our Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook, or attend a seminar on the topic of dealing with obnoxious or difficult customers, ultimately, whether you improve or not is up to you. A workbook or training can get you started, but only you can continue to improve through thinking, practice, and observation. Here are some tips from our workbook:
Here’s a series of tactics to employ that will develop your defusing hostility skills.
* Remind Yourself – at the beginning of each working day, remind yourself of one or two defusing tactics you would like to focus upon. It might be not taking the bait, or using a particular empathy statement, or recognizing when it is a good time to refer to a supervisor. It can be whatever you like, provided you choose SOMETHING each day.
* Review Progress – we suggest you take a few minutes at the end of the work day to review how you did.
* Keep A Hostility Diary – If you want to be a bit more formal, where you record “critical incidents” and how you handled them.
* Defuse In Your Private Life – tactics particularly useful in private life include:
o avoiding bait
o empathy statements
o listening statements
o problem solving tactics
o avoiding being triggered
* Talk To Colleagues
* Read Other Books
